University of Washington Bothell Advisory Board

The Advisory Board for the University of Washington Bothell provides guidance to the campus on issues surrounding higher education, assists in building relationships with business and civic leaders and advocates for university resources.

2016-17 Members

Fariba Alamdari, Chair

Dr. Fariba Alamdari is vice president of marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. She parnters with the Boeing sales and product development strategy team to forecast demand for airplane and related services, and evaluate market risks and opportunities.

From 2010 to 2013, as vice president of Marketing and Value Analysis, Fariba was responsible for Commercial Airplanes’ go-to-market strategies in regions around the world, as well as analytics, modeling and simulation in support of sales and product development.

Fariba an expert in the marketing and economics of the aviation industry, with a specific focus on the strategic implications of airline deregulation. In 2006, she joined Boeing from Cranfield University in the United Kingdom, where she served as chair of the university’s Department of Air Transport and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Manufacturing and Science. In those roles, she worked closely with airlines to help make them more profitable, productive and innovative.

Fariba received both a Ph.D and a master’s degree in transport economics from Cranfield University and an undergraduate degree in politics and economic studies from the University of Social and Political Studies in Tehran. She is a visiting professor at Cranfield University, UK. She is also on the board of the Boeing Leadership Development Excellence, and is a former Executive Board member of NeighborCare Health (2009-2014). She also served on the Board of British American Business Council in Washington state.

Bill Abbott

Bill Abbott currently serves as corporate real estate broker at Coldwell Banker Commercial. He previously held a position in corporate real estate brokerage Services with CBRE, and as senior category strategies manager with Food Services of America. He received his undergraduate degree in business from the University of Washington Bothell, and obtained an MBA in business through Seattle Pacific University.

Neil Azous

Neil Azous is the founder and managing member of Rareview Macro, an advisory firm to some of the world’s most influential investors, and the publisher of the daily newsletter Sight Beyond Sight™. Neil is recognized as a thought leader in global macro investing. Prior to founding Rareview Macro, Neil was a managing director at Navigate Advisors where he specialized in constructing portfolios and risk advising. On Wall Street, his career included roles at UBS Investment Bank and Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette. He began his career at Goldman Sachs in fixed income, after completing both the firm’s analyst and associate training programs, widely acknowledged as the pre-eminent and most coveted learning ground for undergraduate and graduate students. Neil completed graduate level coursework for a MS in real estate at New York University and received his BA in business administration from the University of Washington, where he was the recipient of the Bothell Business School 2013 Distinguished Undergraduate Alumnus Award. He is active in various charity and community organizations.

Christopher Boody

Chris Boody is the CTO of SVG Partners in Los Gatos, CA. Chris is a 20-year mobile and software services veteran. Chris started his mobile career with McCaw Cellular communication, focused on the first carrier deployment of Wireless Data in the mid 1990’s. During his career with AT&T, Chrismanaged engineering and architecture teams, partnered with developers to enhance mobile ecosystems, and ran a multi-billion dollar Consumer Messaging business. Chris joined Intel as a VP/GM to lead the Network Products and Services group, where he acquired and integrated two companies and ran a global team of over 600 employees. He joined SVG Partners as CTO in March, 2015. Chris is responsible for managing SVG’s Technical Services, Innovation (LAB353) and Accelerator programs (THRIVE).

Chris was recognized for his strong leadership and mentoring of Irish technology company CEOs by receipt of the Meitheal Award from Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowan. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Fresno and a master of management degree from the University of Washington.

Suzanne Del Rio

Suzanne Del Rio is the co-owner of the Del Rio Foundation, where she uses her experience and creative ability to design dynamic emergent complex system-based solutions in business, social venture as well as philanthropic efforts that are based upon trans-disciplinary thought in a connected world. Del Rio works to develop goal-based public-private partnerships based upon new models of governance, finance, information systems and cooperation, with the goal of promoting maximization of each human being’s potential and the generation of indigenously created dynamically sustainable and scalable systems.

Kurt DelBene

Kurt DelBene is the executive vice president of Corporate Strategy and Planning at Microsoft, leading both cross-engineering and cross-business strategy, execution and planning initiatives. Kurt took a hiatus from Microsoft in December 2013 to help the Obama administration make improvements to Healthcare.gov. As senior advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kurt helped assess and implement the path through the first open enrollment period, including troubleshooting issues encountered along the way, and setting the project up for long-term success. He was also the liaison to White House and Health and Human Services senior leadership.

As president of the Microsoft Office Division from 2010-2013, Kurt was responsible for driving Microsoft’s global productivity strategy for information workers. He directed the engineering and marketing functions for a wide range of productivity products and services, including Office, Office 365, Exchange, SharePoint, Lync, Project and Visio.

Kurt holds a MBA from the University of Chicago, a MS from Stanford University and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Arizona.

Anoop Gupta

Anoop Gupta is the co-founder and CEO of Zipstorm, LLC. For five years, he was a Distinguished Scientist for Microsoft Research. He held many roles with Microsoft, including technology policy and strategy and corporate vice president of the Unlimited Potential Group and Education Products Group. He was the founding leader of Microsoft's Unified Communications Group. Before joining Microsoft in 1997, Anoop was a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford University. He received the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award, and held the Robert N. Noyce Faculty Scholar Chair at Stanford. Prior to his role at Stanford, Gupta was on the research faculty at Carnegie Mellon University, where he received his Ph.D. in computer science. He holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

Jeff was born and raised in Seattle; joining Boeing in 1989 after receiving his B.A. in business administration from the University of Washington. He received his MBA from Seattle University in 1994 and studied lean manufacturing in Japan in 1999.

Jeff is married to Teresa and they have 2 boys, ages 18 and 23. He enjoys outdoor activities including fishing, camping, hiking, and snowboarding.

Jan Hunter

Janet is a past member of the corporate board of Hunter Industries and is experienced in all facets of management and administration of a business organization. She has over 40 years volunteer and professional experience. She is currently past president of the National Alliance on Mental Illness for Washington State, the Vice-Chair of the board of Midway College in Kentucky and a member of the advisory board for the Devereux Pocono Center in Pennsylvania, a long-term living facility for adults with cognitive and psychiatric disorders. She recently finished terms which included extended chair, vice-chair and executive committee assignments at the Riverview School on Cape Cod and the Jackie Robinson family YMCA in the inner city of San Diego. Her experience includes more than three decades working at the local and national levels of the AFS High School Exchange student program She is a third-generation Washington native who attended Whitman College, graduated from the Univesity of Maryland and later taught elementary school. She and her husband raised 4 children from infancy and became the guardians of a 16-year-old girl in 2004.

Wayne Kawakami

Wayne Kawakami currently serves as a Vice President of Finance at the Washington State Employees Credit Union. Prior to joining WSECU his previous experience was with the State of Washington which included serving as a Senior Budget Assistant to the Governor at the Office of Financial Management, Assistant Director for Administrative Services at the Department of Labor and Industries and a Fiscal Analyst for the Office of Program Research for the State House of Representatives. He has also held positons at Security Pacific Bank and the Boeing Company.

Wayne received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington and his Master’s in Business Administration from the Wharton School of Business. Connect with Wayne on LinkedIn.

Mark Lamb

Mark Lamb is the owner and founder of North Creek Law Firm. Mark is an effective and sought after advocate who has practiced law for more than 18 years in both Washington and California. He represents clients in transactional and litigation matters in the real estate, hospitality, venture capital, health care and public policy sectors. He serves as counsel to some of the most respected individuals, family-owned businesses and trade associations in the Pacific Northwest. Mark also acts as counsel to businesses, trade associations and elected officials in drafting legislation and initiatives, seeking government approval of projects, eminent domain, public disclosure, ethics complaints and campaign finance issues. From 2006-2013 Mark served as the Mayor of Bothell. As Mayor, he cut utility taxes, improved Bothell’s credit rating and passed legislation encouraging energy efficient building and development in the largest downtown revitalization in Washington State. Mark is a graduate of the UCLA School of Law and holds a BA in public policy from Duke University where he graduated with honors.

Wendy Lawrence

Captain Wendy Lawrence is a retired naval aviator and NASA astronaut. As a helicopter pilot, she made several shipboard deployments to the North Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Kenya. After earning a master’s degree in ocean engineering from MIT and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Lawrence was selected as an astronaut in 1992 and worked at NASA for 14 years. A veteran of four shuttle missions (STS-67, 86, 91 and 114), she has logged over 50 days in space. Currently, she works part-time at Space Camp and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, informing the public about NASA’s spaceflight programs and participating in STEM education programs.

Judsen Marquardt

Jud Marquardt is a founding partner of LMN Architects, a Seattle-based firm delivering design services for all project types, with particular emphasis on university and civic/public assembly facilities. Jud has served with distinction on the national boards of the American Institute of Architects, the American Architectural Foundation, and as a visiting team-chair for the National Architectural Accreditation Board in accrediting architecture programs at various colleges and universities across the country. He is currently a board member of the state of Washington Public Stadium Authority which oversees the public interest in the management and operation of the CenturyLink Field and Events Center, home of the Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders FC.

Laura Metz

Laura Metz is a Senior Product Manager at Apple Inc. in San Francisco, CA. Laura has been working with Apple Inc. in the iMac division since 2003, and prior to working with Apple, she worked as a Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft for six years in retail merchandising, channel marketing and product marketing. Laura holds two degrees from University of Washington Bothell; she graduated with both her BA and MBA in Business Administration.

Luis Navarro

Luis Navarro is the director of the Office of Social Responsibility for the Port of Seattle. Luis was born in Costa Rica and before joining the Port he worked in the airline industry for almost 20 years. His responsibilities at the Port include community engagement with minority, immigrant and refugee communities, promoting the Port’s mission of economic development through the small business and workforce development program, and support for transitioning veterans.

He is currently a member of the Office of Minority Women and Business Enterprises (OMWBE) Ad Hoc Advisory Committee, Washington DOT DBE Advisory Group, and past-president of the U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce (Pacific Northwest chapter).

In 2013, Luis was recognized by the NFL and the Seattle Seahawks with the 2013 Hispanic Leadership Award. Luis is also a community advocate for Susan G Komen Puget Sound. He received his MBA from the University of Washington-Bothell and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Luis resides in Kirkland, and enjoys cycling across the beautiful Puget Sound and beyond.

George Northcroft

George Northcroft is the regional administrator of the GSA’s Northwest region. Northcroft oversees all GSA’s operations in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington – including management of federal real estate and information technology. Prior to this position Northcroft served as director of business relations & economic development for King County. Additionally, Northcroft has worked as the director of treasury and cash management for Nordstrom, and director of the Department of Executive Administration in King County.

James Reed

Jim is the West Region Commercial Executive for Banner Bank, managing the commercial and specialty banking activities for the bank in Western Washington and Western Oregon. Previously, Jim’s roles have been as a division manager with commercial and retail banking responsibilities, and commercial banking center manager and on and on. Jim is a graduate of the University of Washington Bothell (IAS) 1995, Pacific Coast Banking School 2005 and Northwest Intermediate Commercial Banking School (1993). His community involvement includes ranges from serving on the boards of chambers of commerce to volunteering in the classroom for Junior Achievement.

Gary Rubens

Gary is a Private Investor and Entrepreneur based in the Seattle area. With a diverse 25 years of experience in launching startups, business acquisition, commercial real estate investing and running large scale businesses, Gary is rich with insights, growth and business strategies. Gary was President/CEO of Architectural Details, and ATG Stores, as well as a VP for Lowe’s.

A philanthropist as well, Gary founded Rubens Family Foundation with a focus is on providing underprivileged kids with college scholarships as well as supporting no cost adoptions for foster kids.

Richard Shea

Rick has held a broad range of executive leadership positions over his thirty-five year career in the healthcare industry. His unique experience spanned both domestic and overseas assignments in research, product development, sales, marketing, distribution, and manufacturing, with early career experience at Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Abbott Laboratories (ABT). He expanded his professional portfolio with several successful early-stage companies including Stericycle (SRCL), a healthcare service provider, and Spiration (Olympus Respiratory America), a respiratory medical device company. Rick is currently CEO of Sterifre Medical, an early stage medical products company focused on the infection control and wound therapy markets.

Rick earned his BS in marketing from Nichols College. He currently serves as an board member of Providence Health and Services, Northwest Washington.

Preston Simmons

Preston Simmons is the Chief Executive Officer for Providence Health & Services, Northwest Washington Region. He is responsible for a complex delivery system that contains the 501 licensed bed Providence Regional Medical Center, Everett, a network of Ambulatory Clinics and other related healthcare services. He joined Providence in 2007.

Prior to his current role, Preston was a Senior Associate Administrator at the University of Washington Medical Center. He served at the University of Washington Medical Center since 1998. Prior to that, he was Chief Executive Officer of a rural hospital in Page, Arizona as part of the Samaritan Health System and served in senior leadership roles at Stevens Hospital in Edmonds and Ballard Community Hospital in Seattle.

Preston has a master’s degree in health administration from the University of Washington and is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Health Services, School of Public Health and Community Medicine. He is a Fellow with the American College of Healthcare Executives and is active in many professional and community organizations including being on the Boards of the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, The Washington State Hospital Association, The Snohomish County Health Leadership Coalition and a member of the Governors Health Innovation Leadership Network.

Renee Sinclair

Renee Radcliff Sinclair is the President and Chief Executive Officer of TVW, Washington’s public affairs media network. Prior to joining TVW, Renee was education policy director at Apple, Inc., and executive director of Congressional and Public Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Renee spent 14 years as a journalist, followed by four successful elections to the Washington State House of Representatives. Since leaving the Legislature, Renee continues to serve her community through a variety of policy-related, community-based activities.

William Wescott

Bill has been a leader in innovation and sustainable development for over three decades and a frequent speaker at international events. A lifelong intra- and entrepreneur, Bill has worked with startups, corporations, investors, governments, and NGOs to create new sustainable enterprises. In addition to being a leader of three Bay Area startups, Bill was the Vice President, Innovation for Veolia Environment, where he co-founded and led the Veolia Innovation Accelerator and worked with all of Veolia’s business divisions (water, waste, energy, and transportation) to enhance their services through technological and business innovations. Bill currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, and provides advisory services to variety of client organizations through his firm BrainOxygen LLC.

In his fifteen years at Arthur D. Little, Inc. Bill worked with top executives in the public sector, non-governmental sector, and private sector on five continents, in four languages (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian), and lived in Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. His industrial sector experience includes electric utilities, oil & gas, mining & metals, forest products, chemicals, consumer products, heavy manufacturing, and information technologies. Bill has served as an advisor to organizations including the Romanian (member of the delegation to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro), Italian, Mexican, Brazilian, and U.S. governments, UNIDO, the Sustainable Performance Group Investment Fund, PROPEL Board of Directors, The Conference Board, The Pew Center on Global Climate Change, The Institute of the Americas, FUNDES, the World Resources Institute, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, New Jersey Environmental Lobby board of directors, and NASA LAUNCH. Bill received the Social Innovation Leadership Award from the World CSR Congress in 2013.

Bill has a Ph.D. in Engineering and Public Policy from Carnegie Mellon (Dissertation: The Influence of Organizational Factors on the Effectiveness of Environmental Management; doctoral committee included Herbert Simon, 1978 Nobel Laureate in Economics) and BSE in Chemical Engineering from Princeton.

Carl Zapora

Carl Zapora is the superintendent of Public Hospital District No. 2, Snohomish County and its program, the Verdant Health Commission. Since developing and launching the Verdant Health Commission in 2011, he has overseen investments in community health and wellness programming and opened the Verdant Community Wellness Center, which houses community programming including health insurance enrollment assistance.

In addition to serving on the University of Washington Bothell Advisory Board, he also serves as a trustee at Edmonds Community College, and a board member at Molina Healthcare of Washington and the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce.

He previously worked in the United Way system for more than 30 years, including President & CEO of United Way of Snohomish County before coming to Verdant.

Carl’s wife, Cheryl Foster, is a retired Ford Motor Company executive. They live in Edmonds and have a pet parrot named Edsel.